Repeat Offender Back in Jail After Judge Releases Him Without Bond

MOUNT DORA — A repeat offender is back in jail as of Wednesday after violating a pre-trial release order stemming from a felony domestic battery charge.

52-year-old Darren Williams was arrested and charged with felony domestic battery on March 26 according to arrest records and later released on his own recognizes on May 8.

Williams, who had 13 prior arrests at the time, was released without bond and ordered to have no contact with the victim.

According to a police report, only ten days after his release, Williams allegedly violated his pre-trial release order when he was charged with two felony counts of battery, a felony count of burglary, and a misdemeanor count of resisting officers.

According to the report, Mount Dora Police officers responded to a home on Hacket Street in after receiving calls in reference to a battery.

Upon arrival, officers met with the victim, Williams’ victim from previous domestic batter charges.

Officers stated that the victim was “crying hysterically and pointing to a hematoma on her forehead” when they arrived.

The victim confirmed that her injuries were made by Williams who had fled the area before officers arrived. She also told officers that Williams had come to her residence, kicked her door in, and began battering her. The victim was later transported to a nearby medical facility to treat the injuries she sustained during the incident.

After searching the surrounding area, Williams was found in the parking lot of a nearby store. Williams reportedly saw the police patrol vehicle arrive and immediately began walking away from the officers.

One officer exited the vehicle and ordered Williams to stop at which time Williams looked at the officer and once again fled the area.

The officer began chasing Williams on foot and was able to get Williams to stop only after warning him he would be tasered if he did not stop.

With these last two arrest, Williams has been arrest a total of fifteen times since 2012 with six of those arrests being in the last 11 months. His previous charges also include multiple felony domestic battery charges, previous violations of no contact orders and violations of pre-trial releases, as well as other charges of resisting or fleeing officers.

Aside from Williams’ case, many residents in Lake county have begun to worry about the increasing number of habitual offenders being released without bond.

Williams is an example of one of those cases with multiple previous felony charges and order violations.

The increasing number of no-bond releases has sparked heated discussions about the need for bail reform in Florida.

While some believe bail reform is need to provide a safer and fair way to keep repeat offenders in jail, others believe that bail amounts are too high and force arrests to “buy their freedom”.